A Work In Progress
by aissy55
Summary: A classic L/J fic chronicling their years at Hogwarts... please review and let me know if I should continue!
1. Soft Bricks

Disclaimer:  Any characters/locations/ideas that you recognize obviously do not belong to be… other characters are all mine though!  
  
A Work In Progress  
  
By Aissy55  
  
Unbeknownst to non-magical types, a whistle blew for the soon-to-be departing Hogwarts Express at King's Cross Station in the heart of London.  One Muggle-born however, was aware that the magical train would be soon leaving her behind if she did not figure out how exactly to make her way on to Platform 9 and three quarters.    
  
Lily Evans glanced down at her ticket once more to make sure that her eyes had not played tricks on her.  Yes, she thought, it does say 'Platform 9 and three quarters.'  Except for the fact that I can't find it!  She glanced from the sign on her left for Platform 10 and the one on her right announcing Platform 9 and sighed.   This was finally her chance to get away from the confinements of home and most importantly, from her sister Petunia.  Ever since the owl carrying Lily's Hogwarts letter had landed on top of Petunia's marmalade-covered toast she had made her younger sister's life miserable.    
  
All Lily could hope for now was that another Hogwarts student would pass and notice the helpless eleven-year old.  She sat down next to her cart loaded with her new possessions purchased on a most interesting trip to Diagon Alley with her father and her godfather, Blace Millerst, who happened to be a Hogwarts alumnus.   It had taken three washings for Lily to get all of the soot out of her long red hair after their journey through the Floo network.    
  
If I miss the train, I could always just try Floo powder, she thought as she stared dejectedly at her new owl, Herea.  She leaned back against the brick wall except there wasn't one there.  Lily's upper body fell unexpectedly down to the ground with a thump.   She looked up with horror to see that a brick wall was lying right in the spot where her legs should be.  Lily, expecting to feel the weight of the bricks on her legs at any moment, sat in shock.    
  
"Hey now, you're clogging up the door!" a voice sounded from behind her.  Lily snapped out of her shock and turned her head to see a young boy with untamed hair standing over her.  She just stared and looked back at the brick wall interrupting the lines of her body.   "I've got to say that I've never seen anyone's eyes that big before," the boy said as he began to help Lily up.  "I'll just make a wild guess and say that this is your first year?"  
  
Lily looked back at the boy and just nodded as she rose to her feet.  Her cheeks flushed as she realized that what she must look like to those accustomed to the ways of the wizarding world—probably much the same as one would look at a person talking to a dog in the middle of Piccadilly.   She finally found her voice and replied to the boy who was still standing at her side, "Yes, yes it is my first year."  Suddenly she remembered Herae and her other possessions on the other side of the wall.  "My things, are, uh, still...," she stammered.  
  
"Oh, right," he responded as he quickly disappeared through the bricks then back again, pushing Lily's cart with her owl hooting, happy to be back in the magical world.  "My name is James, James Potter by the way.  What's your name?"  
  
"Lily Evans." Her response was almost drowned out by the loud whistle that called the final students to board the Hogwarts Express.  James pointed to where she should take her trunk then boarded.  She followed his direction and put the trunk in the necessary location then stepped onto the Express and into her new life as a student in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.   


	2. The Hogwarts Express

A Work in Progress Chapter 2: The Hogwarts Express  
  
Disclaimer:  Any characters/locations/ideas that you recognize obviously do not belong to be… other characters are all mine though!  
  
Lily boarded the train but found that while there were no empty compartments that she could stay in, there was one with only one student occupying a space for six. She rapped her knuckles lightly on the door that was slightly ajar to get the attention of the other passenger. The boy looked to be about Lily's age, a fellow first year, she guessed, of average height. His most distinguishing feature was long, greasy black hair that almost reached his chin and a seemingly permanent scowl attached to his face.  
  
"Excuse me, would it be alright if I sat in here with you?" Lily questioned as the boy looked up startled, from the book that he had been reading. He cocked an eyebrow then looked to the seat across from him and then back to his book. Lily took this as a yes and placed her things on the rack above the cushioned seat.  
  
"My name is Lily Evans, I'm a first year. What is your name?"  
  
Without looking up he replied curtly, "Severus Snape, first year," then began reading again. With a sister as moody as Petunia, Lily got the hint and didn't attempt to speak to him unless he initiated a conversation. She stared out the window and wondered what her upcoming years at Hogwarts would be like. She watched the city streets of London fade in the distance as sweeping hills took over as the dominant characteristic of the land. Lily became so enthralled in her own thoughts of what magical people and places awaited her that she did not notice a certain greasy-haired boy periodically look up from his book to stare intently at her.  
  
……..  
  
Despite the fact that James Potter had not even set foot in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the first year had already acquired a prankster reputation, thanks to a certain smell that was wafting through the train. He and his friend, Sirus Black, had let off a dungbomb in front of the door to a compartment filled with other first years inside an hour ago, yet the smell remained.  
  
"Oye, Jamesie! That must have been a particularly strong bomb because I could smell it ten compartments down," the dark-haired boy said as he returned from the snack cart with his arms laden with Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, and just about every other kind of candy one could buy in the wizarding world.  
  
James looked up from The Daily Prophet, "My father and I went on a last minute shopping trip to the new Pleasy's Prankshop in town. You have got to see this place! It seems like there are no walls, only shelves and shelves of everything from extra-strength dungbombs to tickling underware," he replied with sparkling eyes.  
  
"Oooooooo! I guess you know where we're going to head as soon as Christmas holiday comes around!" Sirus exclaimed as he plopped down next to James and opened a package of Bernie Botts. "Wish me luck," he said as he popped a pale yellow bean into his mouth. James watched as Sirus' face contorted then he ran to the window to spit the foul candy out of the window of the hurling train. James raised his eyebrows as Sirus turned back to his friend and simply stated, "Dog drool," then popped a different colored bean into his mouth and had a similar reaction. Somebody's got to eat all of the nasty ones, he thought.  
  
James smirked then looked up as their two other friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew entered the compartment, "Smell anything tasty out there?"  
  
Remus rolled his eyes then looked at Sirus as he was popping more Bernie Botts into his mouth, "I really have no idea how you can even think about eating those with that smell going through the whole train."  
  
"At the moment the smell out there is exactly what I'm tasting. This has got to be the absolute worst package of Bernie Botts ever made!!" Sirus cried.  
  
Remus snorted, "Next time warn me before you're going to let another one off so I can eat my chocolate frogs in peace." Sirus and James just grinned.  
  
"What are you reading about James?" Peter asked after he had moved all of the discarded candy wrappers from his seat. James held up a page of The Daily Prophet that was profiling different Quidditch teams. Sirus stood up with a fluttering of candy wrappers, "Let's go check out the other compartments... we only got a few cars down before we let off the first dungbomb." Only James stood up as the other two had begun a game of Exploding Snap. It was clear that game was already not going in Peter's favor, as his eyelashes had become singed.  
  
……..  
  
Lily grew tired of staring out the window so she pulled her copy of Hogwarts: A History out of her satchel and began to read about the history of the school. As she got to the chapter on the different houses she wondered which one she would be placed into. I'm a good student, so maybe Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff doesn't seem so bad, I guess. Gryffindor seems like the best match, although I don't exactly know if I'm brave enough to be in that house. I just hope that I'm not in Slytherin. That's probably what Severus will be in, she thought, glancing at the sour expression on his face. She wondered how exactly they were going to be sorted. A test maybe? I hope not, I haven't exactly had much time to practice magic over the years.  
  
She turned the page and was just starting to read about the House Cup when the compartment door slid open to reveal James and another boy that she hadn't met. Both of their attentions were fixed on Snape, not noticing the other occupant.  
  
With a crinkled nose, the other boy cried, "Snivelly-poo, did you walk out of the compartment again and make the whole train smell your nasty odor?"  
  
James turned to his friend and added, "Oh, so that explains why so many people were making gagging noises a little while ago." He turned and noticed Lily for the first time, who was staring at him with a furrowed brow.  
  
His attention was regained when Snape snapped back, "Potter, Black, I was expecting you two to be paying me an unwanted visit sooner. You must have forgotten in your stupidity how to open the door again."  
  
Sirus raised one of his eyebrows and smirked, "Actually, we were just wondering how someone as slimy as you would be accepted to be a student in this fine establishment. My mother was just complaining the other day on how much the standards have dropped since they started letting people like you in." Sirus looked around the room as he said this and his eyes stopped, surprised, at the pretty redhead who was sitting opposite Snape.  
  
"I'm sure that what your mother was referring to was the fact that Dumbledore is allowing anyone in here now, half-bloods, mudbloods, and worst off, gits like you that give purebloods a bad name," he snapped.  
  
Lily looked from one face to the next and wondered was Severus had meant by his last remark. From the looks on the other two's faces, she guessed that there was an insult somewhere in his words. I have a lot to learn, she silently sighed.  
  
James looked pointedly at Lily then reached for his wand, only to be herded out of the compartment by his friend.  
  
"Oh, don't worry Snape, you'll be glad that 'gits like us' were let in the school after all the fun that we're going to have together," Sirus said with a mischievous grin spreading on his face.  
  
James nodded at Lily briefly as he was pushed back to his own compartment.  
  
Severus looked at her, "So, you've met the illustrious James Potter already. I would highly recommend that you stay away from the git and his friends unless you want to be expelled for playing childish pranks," he said curtly.  
  
Lily opened her mouth to reply but he resumed reading as before obviously not wanting further discussion. She stared at him as he flipped the pages of his book violently. She didn't know what to make of the scene she had just witnessed. Back home anytime any of the boys in her neighborhood had gotten in a spat, they just pulled out their plastic swords and beat each other. She had never seen boys that young actually fight with words that were more than just saying, "You're dumb!" and "Not as dumb as you!" Maybe they all just had really intelligent parents. She shrugged her shoulders then went back to reading about the school as the Hogwarts Express zoomed through the countryside.  
  
…….. A/N: Well this one is a little bit longer than the first chapter. Do you think that I should write just from Lily's perspective or from joint L/J points of view as I did in this chapter? Also, should I continue in chronological order and gradually move through the Hogwarts years, or skip to when they're older? Your thoughts are appreciated—although I ultimately get to decide what goes where ( R/R… cheers! 


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